TVK and DMK are fighting in the Assembly over the extra ₹10 earned per bottle of liquor

Prohibition and Excise Minister K Vignesh said on Monday (31 Aug 2026) that the “extra ₹10” collected at Tasmac liquor stores was the result of years of underpayment of store employees and non-allocation of funds to pay electricity bills or maintain the outlets.

Responding to Deputy Leader of the Opposition KN Nehru of the DMK, who asked why the ₹10 per bottle surcharge was still being levied, Mr Vignesh said: “The problem with Tasmac is that consumers do not decide which brands of liquor will be sold in the outlets, but the politicians do.”

The minister, who submitted the demand for grants for his departments, said, “When we tried to stop the employees from collecting extra fee, we found that it was costing them at least ₹10,000 a month to maintain their shop. Those who earn ₹11,000 a month cannot do that. Who made them collect ₹10 extra? What were you doing to me? they only collected ₹5 but it was the officials who made them to collect more.”

Mr. Nehru said it was unfair to accuse the DMK of corruption when the minister himself admitted in the Assembly that the money was collected for the maintenance of shops.

CTR Law Minister Nirmal Kumar added, “The issue of corruption above ‘₹10’ came to the fore after 10% (₹10) was fixed… That means 10% of ₹50,000. ₹5,000 is not a small amount of money.”

DMK MLA and former minister EV Velu said that attempts were made to brand the DMK as corrupt. “If there has been corruption, take action and let the courts decide. You keep saying there is a leak and corruption. There is an attempt to start propaganda against DMK. If we keep talking about it, we are wasting our time,” he said.

PMK leader Sowmiya Anbumani appealed to the government to introduce prohibition and praised the government for setting up 20 new courts under the POCSO Act to speed up court proceedings.

Mr. Vignesh said that the e-Kalaal app will be created at a cost of ₹ 1.69 crore. It would include cancellation of FL 2, FL 3, FL 3A and FL 3AA license, transfer, renewal and licensing of import of foreign spirits. He said the government would create a methanol control policy to prevent the spread of illegal alcohol. The government also increased the money given to those who had spent time in jail and were released from ₹50,000 to ₹1,00,000.

After introducing a 25% increase in July, Mr Vignesh announced another pay rise for Tasmac workers who have been in the service for the past 23 years, with effect from September 1.

He said, “From September 1, 2026, supervisors will be paid ₹33,023, salesmen ₹30,284, assistant salesmen ₹28,680. The pay hike will cost the exchequer ₹486.90 crore. Annual allowance for uniforms, ₹000 for festivals annually. ₹6,000 For maintenance, shops in city corporations will get ₹5,000, those in municipalities ₹4,000 and those in rural areas ₹3,000.”

The FL 2 license cost has been increased from ₹ 15 lakh to ₹ 30 lakh and this increase is likely to generate a revenue of ₹ 37.75 crore.

The minister said: “When the workers sought an increase in wages (in the past), those in charge of the department told them that they were already collecting more per bottle. Because the department officials allowed them to collect more, the workers found it convenient. During COVID-19, when physical distance had to be maintained and PPE kits had to be purchased, the additional cost per bottle increased and the reasons for it increased. We also need to look at the reasons. so.”

He added that an additional cess of ₹90, ₹40 and ₹20 was imposed on a box of Indian foreign liquor, a case of beer and wine respectively. This levy would generate additional revenue of ₹209.75 crore. He warned the workers that additional charges would no longer be tolerated.

Published – 31 Aug 2026 21:35 IST